Even as her presenting issue is sexuality, her book is really about how we go about reading the Bible, what we bring to it, and what we want it to say.

It is time for us to admit that we, too, are interpreters who hope to find our convictions reflected in biblical texts, and have been all along. Looking to the Bible for straightforward answers about anything, including sex, can lead only to disappointment. When read as a whole, the Bible provides neither clear nor consistent advice about sex and bodies, as the material presented in this book demonstrates. p. 244

She presents a great deal of material about how the Bible approaches sex. I hadn't realized that Esther and Jezebel were far more alike than different. Both were strong women. Both wanted to hold on to their faith and to the integrity of its practice in a foreign land. Both defended their people. Both had to use their "feminine wiles to advance their goals." p. 15.

What was the difference between Jezebel and Esther? Jezebel played for the wrong team. The way to slander, dismiss, and ruin the opposing player in biblical times and in the present is to call her a slut. Then have her eaten by dogs. Sexualize your opponent. Does that sound familiar in the arguments against equality for lgbt people?

Her six chapters take you through the Bible and its cast of characters, their actions, and attitudes toward themselves and others as sexual beings. She addresses how various interpreters throughout church history have interpreted certain texts. She takes on "Christian" educators who use scare tactics and misuse the Bible to support abstinence-only education.

...passages celebrating sexual pleasure outside the bonds of marriage can be found within the Bible and, remarkably, no one dies. p. 23

She explores the Song of Songs, David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, "biblical marriage", polygamy, celibacy, slaves, virgins, desire, sexual politics, sex with strangers, sex with angels, sex between gods (Yhwh and Asherah), rape, Jesus's foreskin (did she really write about that? Yes!), virgin births, menstruation, managing "the wife", and much, much more!

Fundamentalists will hate this book. She dismantles their idols, especially the one that claims that the Bible has a unified voice on matters of sexuality. However, those who will appreciate this book are those who can appreciate the Bible, its authors and their struggles:

...the Bible is not perfect, but it can still be regarded as beautiful, particularly when we do not try to force it to mean just one thing. p. 247

I will be recommending this book to college students when I speak to classrooms at ETSU. Because I am a minister who advocates for equality for LGBT people, I often get asked to speak to classes about PFLAG. I get asked:

How can a minister possibly defend homosexuality when the Bible so clearly condemns it?

I find that many students are not asking that question derisively, but honestly. I give them my honest answer. The Bible is complex and we see in it what we want to see. I invite them to read the Bible for themselves and to examine their own attitudes. This elegant book by Jennifer Wright Knust will be a companion, guide, and a breath of fresh air for those seeking a conversation with the biblical authors that is intelligent, informed, and honest.